Series: A Magical Dressmaking Mystery, #2
Publisher: Signet
Released: February 7, 2012
Source: Review copy from the publisher

Business is booming at Harlow Jane Cassidy’s custom dressmaking boutique – even with her great-grandmother’s ghost hanging around the shop. But when a local golf pro is found stabbed with dressmaking shears, the new town deputy suspects Harlow. Now she has to clear her name before the next outfit she designs is a prison jumpsuit…

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Miss Harlow Jane Cassidy, once a New York fashion designer, is now the proud owner of Buttons and Bows, a unique dressmaking shop in Bliss, Texas. Thanks to a magical wish made by her great-great-great grandfather, Butch Cassidy (yep, that Butch Cassidy!), all of the women in the family are blessed with a special “gift.” While her grandmother is a goat charmer, and her mom has a powerful green thumb, Harlow has the ability to sew magic into the garments she makes, giving the wearer a little supernatural help.

In A FITTING END, the town of Bliss is in a tizzy over the upcoming Margaret Moffette Lea Pageant and Ball, and Harlow has been hired to make the gown for Libby Allen, the granddaughter of Senator and Mrs. Jebediah James. Things go terribly wrong when the golf pro is murdered at the country club where the event will be held, and evidence points to Mrs. James (Zinnia) as the murderer. Harlow can sense that Zinnia is innocent, so while her client is being held in the county jail, she does some investigating of her own. What she discovers is that the people of Bliss, Texas, have more secrets than you can shake a stick at, and someone is willing to commit murder to keep them buried.

I fell in love with this series after reading the first book, PLEATING FOR MERCY, and the follow up, A FITTING END, was equally enjoyable. We learn more about the Cassidy family tree and the magical gifts the women possess. The ghostly presence of great-grandmother Meemaw joins the cast again, and she’s gaining strength for helping out and for some mischief, too. The mystery was well written; it kept me guessing until the end. I’m looking forward to seeing how the new discoveries in this book play out in the next installment. This was a great read, and I’d definitely recommend it to fans of cozy mysteries with a touch of the paranormal.

Rating: 4 Stars

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.